Folks,<BR> What would be the best (eficient, economical) way to get into downtown Paris<BR>(Hotel Leveque) from Degaulle airport?<BR>Thanks<BR>Mark

Economical? The train. Efficient? A cab. Depends how many you are. If you're alone and without too much luggage, take the train. If you'd rather not, take one of the shuttle services. If you are two or three, a cab is probably worth it. It would probably cost 40-50 euros.

If you're very young and/or have very little luggage, the RER to Gare de Lyon, then Metro to a stop near your hotel would be most economical and even efficient, time-wise. However, managing luggage on RER and Metro can be daunting; never again for me!<BR><BR>A taxi costs about $46-50 during morning rush and is certainly most convenient for door-to-door service.<BR><BR>There is an airport shuttle (run search on here) that many like very much; less expensive than taxi, more than RER,Metro.<BR><BR>Air France also has a bus which stops at certain places in Paris; try search for Air France bus, also.<BR><BR>I would take a taxi;some folks will advise you otherwise, no doubt.

This may sound goofy, but do you have to be an Air France passenger to use their bus service?

No. Air France takes anyone who pays and it is a cheaper way to go-plus a free tour of the city before destination. Otherwise,use ParisShuttle-on the web.

We'll be in Paris middle of March. Could someone tell me the cost of RER from CDG to Gare du Nord as opposed to the Roissy bus that goes to the Etoile?<BR>Also, can you get round trip tickets on both? Is there a substantial saving?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help.

Take a taxi!! Forget the shuttle unless you want some more stress into your travel.

Thanks xxx but I don't take taxis, ever. I travel very light so I won't be at the mercy of capricious taxi drivers. I posed a legitimate question. I appreciate your post but find it useless.

Then you are an idiot, lee. There is nothing about taxi drivers to term them &quot;capricious&quot;. They have meters and are carefully regulated by law to determine what they charge you. If there are two of you, there is no substantial savings in taking a shuttle, which is a lot more time and trouble. Of course, if the bottom line is the most important thing and you are traveling light, then the RER or some involved combination of bus and then metro is perhaps the best bet.

I don't know how different those fares are, but it's a trivial amount (cents). They are both about 8 euros. I don't think there is any savings to a roundtrip ticket.

I'm sorry I just saw your post, the Roissybus doesn't go to the Etoile, it only goes to the Garnier Opera. The Air France bus goes to the Etoile and it is 10 euro (I think that is cheaper for a RT ticket, maybe 17-18 euro).<BR><BR>If you have some transportation pass, that may cover the RER, though, if it had zone 5 in it (Mobilis does not cover CDG, however).

I go to Paris often and the cheapeast, least hassle into Paris from CDG is the Air France bus (around 10 euros each way. The bus has several stops so you need to check the Air France site to see if one is near your hotel. Butif you travel light, not much of a hassle.

To me, someone who goes into Paris a bunch of times every year, this is a no-brainer. Take a taxi. The RER-M&eacute;tro thing requires super-human strength and perseverance; the shuttle appears to be fairly unreliable. For my money, after an all-night flight, all I want is a good Taxi Parisien to take me right to my hotel.<BR><BR>Lee: whether you travel light or not is irrelevant. The Taxis Parisiens drivers aren't capricious in the least - they are bound by laws. I don't know what your problem with them is, but it doesn't seem to be related to reality.

In response to your stupid and rude reply to my post regarding taking a taxi, I was NOT referring to your post. I was referring to Mark's question. Read carefully first before you jump on others.

My response was to &quot;Lee&quot;.

Thanks for the responses folks. We are a party of three coming over from London<BR>(initially Virginia) after a week. So with some luggage and three people, seems the census dictates we simply take cab.<BR>Merci.<BR>Mark<BR>P.S. I do have a followup post asking about two hotels since I only got Leveque for four nights out of seven.

Thank you so much to the helpful and civil posters who answered my question. As to xxx, you obviously were not raised by a kind mother.

Message to St.Cirq: You say the best way into Paris is with Taxi Parisien; do you just exit the terminal and there they are or do you book one ahead or what? Also, coming in on a Canadian charter we land at Terminal 9. In the past we have used various shuttle services but I have seen a line of taxis as well. Are there several companies but you suggest avoid all others except &quot;Taxi Parisien&quot;???

There is a taxi stand at Terminal 9 and you'll have no problem locating one. All registered taxis in Paris have the label &quot;Taxi Parisien&quot; -- the company name could be different but Taxi Parisien is not a company. A reliable taxi company is G7 for example but if the cab is registered, you won't have a problem.

Linda.<BR>We flew Air Transat into cdg terminal 9.<BR><BR>Thanks to a four hour departure delay and a one hour baggage delay at cdg, we cleared customs at 11:30.<BR><BR>We staggered outside with everyone else and joined the lineup. It is right outside the main door.<BR><BR>It is the only humane way to go after a 26 hour journey.